The Designed World: Images, Objects, Environments

We now live in a designed world and we need to develop a better understanding of how to discuss and critique its design components. The essays presented here -- selected from the preeminent journal, Design Issues -- are intended to enhance our collective understanding of the wide reach of design in the contemporary world. The book is structured to cover the life of a designed object or project from conception and fabrication to evaluation. The essays are divided into themed sections, with each section separately introduced and each concluded with further reading. The Designed World aims to break down the often rigid boundaries between history, theory and criticism. Despite the wide range of subjects discussed, the book highlights the commonalities across all aspects of design. The reader will be invaluable to students, scholars and practitioners across the field of design.

About the author (2010)

Richard Buchanan is Professor of Design, Management and Information Systems at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. He is editor ofDiscovering Design, The Idea of Design, and Pluralism in Theory and Practice. Dennis Doordan is Professor of Architectural and Design History at Notre Dame University. He is author ofTwentieth Century Architecture and editor of Design History: An Anthology. Victor Margolin is Professor Emeritus of Design History at the University of Illinois, Chicago. His books includeDesign Discourse, Discovering Design, The Idea of Design, The Struggle for Utopia, and The Politics of the Artificial.